The present invention relates to a device for separating at least one rod of forming material as used in manufacturing tobacco products, applicable in particular to a machine by which such products are made and reflecting the prior art as recited in claim 1.
The invention relates also to a method by which at least one continuous rod of forming material for tobacco products is separated into a plurality of reclaimable lengths, implementing steps reflecting the prior art as recited in claim 22.
The invention finds application particularly in the field of manufacturing tobacco products, namely cigarettes, cigars and the like, where use is made of machines equipped with a unit serving to fashion a forming material into at least one continuous rod, or tobacco rod, and a cutter device by which the newly formed continuous rod is divided into a succession of discrete portions each destined to become a respective tobacco product.
In conventional machines used for making tobacco products, such as those described and illustrated in patents IT 1208281 and IT 1171577 and in Italian patent application BO02001A 000604, certain parts of the continuous rod of forming material have to be discarded due to their presenting characteristics incompatible with the manufacture of a marketable tobacco product. The parts destined typically to be discarded will include the initial endmost portion of a continuous rod being formed by the machine, and any intermediate parts happening to display characteristics similar to the end portion.
Defective parts are eliminated normally by means of a separation or rod breaker device operating between the forming unit and the aforementioned cutter device.
The separation device, as disclosed in Italian patent IT 1208281, consists generally in a strimmer style cutter, that is to say a rotating head with slender radial or diametral members, driven at high speed by a motor, which is positioned to intercept the advancing continuous rod and divide it up into successive pieces of predetermined length.
Ordinarily, the separation device operates in conjunction with a cut-off device installed in such machines between the unit forming the continuous rod, and the cutter device. The cut-off device is designed typically to divide the continuous rod into two portions: the first, advancing toward the cutter device downstream of the cut-off device, and the second fed through the machine upstream of the cut-off device.
The cut-off device is also able to redirect the advancing continuous rod from its original path by directing it toward the separation device. More exactly, this redirection of the continuous rod can be brought about by a diverter element associated with the cut-off device and presenting a curved profile that extends transversely to the direction followed by the continuous rod.
To effect the change of direction, accordingly, the cut-off device must be shifted in such a way that the diverter element is positioned along the path followed by the advancing continuous rod. As it advances, the continuous rod being formed by the machine will encounter the diverter element and as a result, veer transversely from the original feed path.
As illustrated in application BO2001A 000604, the continuous rod advanced by the machine is deflected by a diverter element that forms an integral part of the cut-off device. In other words, the cut-off device presents a sharp pointed portion positioned to slice through the advancing continuous rod, and a substantially arcuate portion extending from the sharp portion, functioning as the diverter element, which serves to deflect the continuous rod directly toward a bin serving to collect reject material, or a reclaiming station. Likewise in this situation, the redirection of the continuous rod is brought about by positioning the cut-off device in such a way as will enable the diverter element or arcuate portion to intercept the continuous rod.
Once the cutting action has been produced by the sharp point of the cut-off device, a portion of the continuous rod not suitable for making into tobacco products will be carried toward the cutter device of the machine, where the unwanted forming material is broken up into a succession of small fragments that fall by gravity directly into a reclaiming station located beneath the cutting area.
Whilst it is true that devices used to separate continuous rods of forming material for tobacco products are able, as also are the machines used in making such products, to recover a fair quantity of forming material momentarily unsuitable for making into saleable tobacco products, they nonetheless present certain drawbacks and might be improved in a number of ways, with regard mainly to the quality of the forming material collected and reutilized subsequently in the process of fashioning further continuous rods, and as regards the amount of the forming material collected and the reduction in production costs achievable by reclaiming material that would normally be discarded.
More particularly, the applicant finds that the effect of dividing up continuous rods of forming material into portions employing cutter devices of whatever description (reciprocating and/or rotary), for example those with a rotating head and other such separation devices, is to break up the forming material to a degree that the value of recovering and/or reutilizing it becomes questionable.
More exactly, when reject portions of continuous rods are subjected to these cutting operations, the tobacco fibers which make up the greater part of the forming material are significantly degraded, in that by being notably shortened, their dimensions will be reduced to the point of disallowing further use.
Conversely, if the reclaimable continuous rod is not broken up, a laborious unpicking operation is required in order to recover the tobacco fibers contained in the filler, which in turn will signify a considerable expenditure of time and resources tending to impact on overall production costs and, ultimately, on the costs of marketing and selling the product.
The object of the invention is to overcome the problems identifiable in the prior art by providing a device for separating at least one continuous rod of forming material for tobacco products, and a method by which to divide the separated rod into a plurality of discrete lengths, such as will also preserve the original properties of the forming material.
Another object of the invention is to achieve a significant reduction in production costs through the recovery of rejected forming material.